A New Beginning
by Aethilius
Summary: Sosuke Aizen has won the war. The Shinigamis of the Gotei 13 have been defeated. He decides to send Toushiro Hitsugaya into the Dangai to meet his inevitable fate of death. But things become weird, and Toushiro will experience his final journey like no other.
1. Soul's Despair

**A New Beginning**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or Fairy Tail.**

 **Hello everyone. I've decided to reboot my other story, Magic of the Soul, as this! I got pretty stuck on that one, and I didn't really like how that plotline was progressing, so I've decided to rewrite everything, with changes of course, so this story and that will be very different. The main character's still Toushiro. Without further ado, enjoy!**

 **Chapter 1: Soul's Despair**

* * *

Soul Society had fallen. They had lost the final battle. Kisuke Urahara's final attempt on sealing Sosuke Aizen's powers had gone for naught.

At first, it did seem as though it worked, when Kurosaki Ichigo used his final form of the Getsuga Tenshou to distract and weaken Aizen, following with Urahara's casting of the Kidou seal. The whitish, translucent spikes impaled within his body grew in size and length, prepared to abosrb his power, and to deactivate the Hougyoko inside Aizen's body.

But the Hougyoko, the substance which Aizen has worked on for a century to complete, his masterpiece, didn't fail him at that last moment. Reaching into the inner depths of Aizen's wishes, the Hougyoko managed to overwrite the seal, shattering it before it managed to drain out every ounce of Aizen's reiatsu.

With the power of regeneration, and with Ichigo's shinigami powers being completely removed due to him using the final Getsuga, Kisuke fell within seconds. If Kurosaki Isshin, Yoruichi Shihouin and himself were unable to defeat Aizen in a three-on-one fight just months before, what good could he do by himself then? He had used up everything he could've thought of.

But it wasn't enough.

Even with the effort of so many, all of the Gotei 13, the Visored and rebel Arrancar like Nelliel, not forgetting Ichimaru Gin's betrayal of Aizen at the climax of Aizen's evolution with the Hougyoko, they were still unable to stop him, now a being who has fully dissolved the boundaries between a Shinigami and a Hollow. A being that has powers which are unstoppable. A being which would newly rule over Soul Society, and overthrow the Soul King with time to come.

Tier Harribel became the leading Espada of Aizen's army, since she was the remaining Espada who was the strongest, and wasn't killed off during the bloody war in Karakura Town, despite her being cut down by Aizen himself halfway through her battle with the Shinigamis. He had given Harribel a chance to redeem herself as the strongest Espada alive, and she had no choice but to follow along. He was way too strong to oppose against, or she would risk her life by doing so.

After Aizen's victory, his actions taken were swift. Sending out the remaining Arrancar which were still alive, they ravaged through Seireitei. Within the city, houses were blown up, and important structures and buildings demolished. The base of the Gotei 13 was invaded as well, with all the shinigami there putting up a futile fight against the overwhelming numbers of the Arrancar. Some managed to escape, while most of the others were captured. A number of them were executed, others sent to prison to rot for eternity.

The Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13, Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, was one of the victims who were put on death row almost immediately after his imprisonment, the execution being performed by Aizen himself understandably. Most of the other captains, vice-captains and shinigamis placed in higher seats of the thirteen divisions were sent to an isolated underground prison deep within Hueco Mundo, which was guarded by the immeasurable amounts of Arrancar, whose numbers only seemed to grow and grow as time passed.

Fortunately enough, Isshin managed to bust Kisuke, Yoruichi and Ichigo out, escaping through a hastily made Senkaimon, a gate which most Shinigami could make to travel between the human world and Soul Society. They are currently taking refuge in Karakura Town.

It wasn't the best place to hide, since Aizen would be returning there in the future to create the King's Key anyway, a key that can be used to allow passage to the dimension where the Soul King resides. That was Aizen's ultimate goal. But they were safe for now, since the prerequisite of sacrificing 100,000 souls to create the key was far from being accomplished.

Soul Society was about to begin a new age. One full of fear and death.

* * *

 _Pitch black. That was all he could see._

 _He was lying face flat on the ground with his hands over his ears, trying to shut out the endless whispering which haunted him from all directions. They've been chanting the same words over and over with increasing intensity for as long as he could remember._

 _"Die, Hitsugaya. Die, die, die._ _"_

 _Toushiro Hitsugaya finally gave up on attempting to block off the voices. Instead he got up, and began to walk._

 _He had no inkling of where he was headed to, and he wasn't concerned about it either. The only thing that he was conscious of was that he was still alive, and he focused solely on finding an exit from the abysmal setting._

 _He stopped. From the distance, he spotted two figures, screaming in fear as their bodies were being flailed around helplessly, apparently being puppeteered by an unknown force._

 _Toushiro froze as he recognised their voices, echoing wildly into his eardrums. "Matsumoto?! Hinamori?! Is that you?!"_

 _"SHIRO-CHAN?! HELP! PLEASE!"_

 _He heard it. That was Hinamori's plea for help._

 _He dashed towards them. He didn't care about anything else. He only wanted them to be safe, nothing more. But as he ran towards them, the unknown force only pushed them further away from him._

 _As the distance between them widened, a sense of foreboding hit him. He knew wasn't going to make it to save them._

 _Then it happened._

 _Toushiro watched on from afar helplessly as Rangiku Matsumoto, his vice-captain of the tenth division, and Momo Hinamori, his childhood friend, were dragged away into the darkness, their mouths forming silent screams of terror. He was rooted to the ground by an unknown force and was unable to fight out of it._

 _Bit by bit, black slimy hands apparated out of nowhere, and they began to twist and turn, slithering around their bodies, to the point where only their eyes were left exposed. From Hitsugaya's view, he watched them close their eyes slowly, succumbing to their inevitable fates._

 _And then, nothing. They had disappeared._

" _NOOOOOOO!"_

* * *

"Hitsugaya? Hey. Rise and shine."

Toushiro jolted awake. His heart was racing, droplets of perspiration trickling down his face. His rasp breathing slowly relaxed as he realized that the scene panned out from before was nothing but a mere dream.

Something felt odd though. Something didn't feel right.

"Where... Am I?"

He could barely see anything. The room was dimly lit, with only a single flickering bulb to provide light. The air felt stale, devoid of proper ventilation, the stench of a rotting corpse hanging around in the suffocating atmosphere. He tried moving. Horrified, he felt tough metallic chains being bound tightly to him, with his hands and legs spread out, each limb being binded to the cracked concrete wall. Struggling in vain, the chains dug deeper into skin, causing him to yelp in pain. His Zanpakuto was gone. He couldn't sense it anywhere. He was trapped. How did he even end up in here?

"Over here. Bad dream you had, I suppose?" A soft voice reverberated throughout the small area. "You were causing such a ruckus."

Surprised, Toushiro's eyes travelled to the source of the voice. Craning his neck to the far corner of the room, he noticed a silhouette against the faint light, shaped like a person sitting on a rocking chair. The figure made no other sound, but instead started to swing back and forth on his chair gently, as how a mother rocking her newborn baby to sleep would.

"Who's that?" demanded Toushiro, forcing a feeble attempt at sounding tough.

"Dear me, Hitsugaya. Only a day has passed and you've already forgotten how my voice sounds like? Seems like the place is having more adverse effects on you than I thought." The other voice trailed off.

That voice did seem familiar somehow. But Toushiro just couldn't figure out its owner. Just who was it?

"I guess I'll just have to show you to make you remember, don't I?" The voice resounded with an amused tone. Standing up, the figure shuffled towards the center of the room, where most of the light could still travel to without dying out.

Toushiro gasped in shock.

 _ **Sousuke Aizen.**_

Gone were the mild features of his scholarly features with his soft, brown eyes. Instead, his glasses were now gone and he had apparently swept his hand through his hair, revealing menacing eyes, sporting a new hairstyle. His body however, was totally unrecognizable from any human or shinigami. It was encased in a material of pure white, and four holes gaped through his body, which was similar to a Hollow's single hole. Ironically, he was still wearing his standard shinigami's uniform, draped with a captain's haori. His Zanpakuto was resting in its sheath, and dangled loosely from his waist.

"You look worse for wear."

'Shut up," snarled Hitsugaya in reply, regaining his composure, fury beginning to develop within him.

"Oh no, this won't do. In case you haven't noticed, I'm in full control of you right now." He smirked in reply. "And shouldn't you be more respectful toward your elders, Hitsugaya-kun?"

"Damn you Aizen! I'm not a kid!" roared Toushiro, tugging at the chains again in his anger, which only resulting in more agony as the metal relentlessly pressed into his flesh.

"It's useless. These chains were made such that they prevent you from expelling your reiatsu out of your body in the form of Kidou, Shunpo, and etcetera. They also hamper the flow of reiatsu within your body. You won't be able to sense your Zanpakuto like this." Aizen knelt besides the thrashing Toushiro. "So, instead of struggling and giving yourself unnecessary pain, you should just resign yourself to your fate."

"You bastard."

"Besides, shouldn't you be more worried about your precious friends?"

Toushiro stopped moving. "Aizen, if anything happens to them, I swear-"

"No need to be so tense. They're alive and doing well. Relatively, I suppose. It really boils down on how you define "well". Anyway, you're not in any position to direct death threats, now are you?"

"They'd better be alright." He gritted his teeth, directing the pain into anger at Aizen. It was the only thing that he could do to keep himself sane. "And you still haven't explained yourself. Why are you doing this? Why sacrifice the lives and souls of so many? What have they ever done to you to deserve this?!"

"The thing is, it was never about them. It's about me." Aizen stood up, and spread his hands wide in triumph. "They're all weaklings. Every single one of them. Including all the Shinigamis in Soul Society. Which of course, includes you, Hitsugaya."

"You fucking monster."

"As I was saying," Aizen continued while ignoring Toushiro, "They're weak. Even with that many souls, I require 100,000 of them in order to create the King's Key. In which I'm currently eighty percent off from my goal. Had they been stronger, I wouldn't have needed that many souls. Maybe half of the amount would've sufficed. Maybe even less. See what I mean? It's their fault for not providing enough power for fuel."

"That's not the point," growled Toushiro. "You're still killing innocent lives, regardless of the number. You're still a murderer. Besides, you're gonna destroy both the human world and Soul Society before you even manage to take down the Soul King."

Aizen arched an eyebrow. "And why is that?"

"For both worlds to exist in peace, there must be a balance in the number of souls and their flow between the realms. I'm sure you already know this. If you're just going to continue to sacrifice souls from within Soul Society and Huedo Mundo for your cause, the balance will be broken. And you're going to kill yourself along with everyone else."

"How naive. Do you really think I haven't already considered all of this?" Aizen shook in head. "Of course, I will equally remove souls from both the human world and Soul Society. Specifically Karakura Town, since the level of Reishi there is so much higher than normal."

"You still haven't told me why you're doing all this."

"Don't you feel like you're the interrogator and I'm the suspect, even though the situation before us shows otherwise?" Aizen chuckled. "Oh well. There's no reason for you not to know anyway, since you aren't going to live to see tomorrow."

Toushiro could feel his heart skip a beat. "What d'you mean by that?"

"You will see for yourself in a bit," said Aizen. "But let's chat for now, while we can. I haven't managed to have a conversation with someone on your side ever since my... Overwhelming victory."

"So, let's start with your question. Why did I do it? Come to think of it, I've already told you Shinigamis about this, haven't I? I want to stand on top of the world, all worlds, from the heavens and take the place of the absent gods, something which no one else has ever done. The world as it is now, it's not right. It's not where it should be. Even the Soul King, he's not at the top. But all that will change. The unbearable vacancy of the throne in the sky is over. From now on... I will be sitting on it."

"Yeah," said Toushiro sarcastically. "And it still wouldn't remain right after you ascend to the top."

Aizen shrugged. "You'll never know until you try. It's such a shame though, that you won't be here to bear witness to the revolution which I will make."

"Like I would want to see it."

"Hmm. Whatever." He paused. "Anyway, I've only just remembered, but didn't I manage to hack off your left arm and leg during the last battle? How did you manage to get them back that quickly?"

Toushiro snorted. "You underestimate Retsu Unohana too much, Aizen."

"Ah. I guessed as much. But true, I didn't think that she would be capable of reattaching your limbs within such a short period of time. She's indeed a respectable healer."

The chains, meanwhile, were constricting his limbs and body, making it more difficult for Toushiro to breathe. Adjusting himself was no good either; The metal just cuts deeper with any slight movement. He started coughing, and spat out some blood in the process.

Aizen looked down at him, sighing. "I guess everybody reaches their limit eventually."

"Don't underestimate me." Toushiro forced a smile. "This is nothing compared to what I've faced in the past."

"Alright then. I suppose you want to know what happened since the battle at Karakura Town in which you... How should I put this. Impaled your dear friend."

Upon hearing that, Toushiro's face contorted to one of pure rage. Aizen raised up a hand, "Now, before you come spouting obscenities about me tricking you into stabbing her, do remember that your blinding rage after that was the cause of your defeat to me. I guess you would've lost either way, but still, you probably need to do something about that anger of yours. Just a friendly tip for you."

When Toushiro did nothing other than to continue glaring at Aizen, he resumed, "You see, most of the Espada, my strongest Arrancar, were defeated by you lot during that battle, which was to be expected. But of course, I prevailed in the very end. The likes of Ichigo Kurosaki and Kisuke Urahara are way below my level to stop me. After you were defeated, you were moved to the base of the Gotei 13 to recuperate. But we raided the place just days after that battle. So we took everyone there as prisoner. Killed a few people. You were still unconscious when we took you, so naturally you wouldn't know anything."

"So where are we?"

"Hueco Mundo. The deepest part of it. Of course, to ensure than none of you escape." Aizen glanced out of the only tiny window in the room. "Oh dear, time does fly when you're having fun. We should start soon."

"Wait a minute."

"Alright... One last question then. What is it?"

"Where's Hyourinmaru?" demanded Toushiro.

"Your Zanpakuto? You're still worrying about stuff like this at this point of time?"

"Just answer the goddamn question. What did you do to him?"

Aizen laughed. "Let's just say that I'm doing some tests on him, shall we?"

"You-"

"Enough. I've exceeded my time limit that I can spend with you. Let's get right down to business."

He reached for his waist and drew his Zanpakuto. "I don't actually need this anymore to use my powers, but for this ritual, I guess it's necessary. And for old time's sake." He flipped it over several times, inspecting it closely before resting its tip against Toushiro's chest. "I suppose you would think that I'm simply going to run this sword through you, ending your life, right?"

"Just do it," said Toushiro scornfully. "I'm not afraid of death."

"I know that very well. Instead, let's try something different."

Aizen withdrew his sword. Instead, he stepped back and slashed the air just next to him. A large door opened up out of nothingness where he had swung his Zanpakuto, which widened up to reveal a void of purple within.

"I assume you know what the Garganta is?"

"It's similar to the Senkaimon," muttered Toushiro. "But the Senkaimon is used to travel between the human world and Soul Society. I would assume that the Garganta is the method used to traverse between Hueco Mundo and the human world."

"Yes, exactly. However, I'm not planning to send you to the human world."

Toushiro's eyes narrowed. "What in the world are you planning this time?"

"I'm going to send you into the Dangai. A one way trip. I need to know if the Koutotsu is still alive, after I attacked it a while back. I might have killed it by accident, you see."

The Koutotsu. The Dangai's equivalent of a street sweeper. Every seven days, it makes an appearance, killing off anything and everything that makes contact with it, to ensure that nobody can stay for extended periods of time and to abuse the time distortion that it posseses. Since the Dangai has such a large density of time, when a single minute has passed in the outside worlds, two thousand minutes would have passed in the Dangai.

There was also the Kouryuu. A current which constantly flows in the Dangai, the reason for its existence being similar to the Koutotsu in the way that it prevents anyone from staying for too long. Getting a single part of your body to be caught in the current spells trouble, as it traps the victim inside forever. Shinigamis however, are able to block the flow of the Kouryuu for a limited amount of time using reiatsu.

"Wait," Toushiro interrupted. "I thought that it was impossible for us Shinigami to even harm the Koutotsu."

"You seem to forget that I'm no longer just a Shinigami. I'm part Hollow as well. I've surpassed the two, in fact. Does that satisfy your query?"

"So you're just going to leave me to die in the Dangai after you confirm the Koutotsu's status."

Aizen nodded. "That's basically it, yes. Quite anti-climaxal if I do say so myself, but it is what it is."

"Are you going to do the same for the rest of the Shinigamis as well?"

"No. They will prove to be more useful as time passes. When their assistance is essential to my future plans."

"You really are the worst," Toushiro let out a humourless laugh. "Always taking the opportunities when they present themselves, even if it means harming another."

"That was my personality from the start, Hitsugaya. The Sousuke Aizen you knew never existed to begin with."

He slashed with his Zanpakuto again, this time at the chains which bounded Toushiro to the wall. With a clang, the metal gave way, and he dropped to the ground on his limbs, enervated and exhausted. The metal cuffs remained on him to continue to hinder the flow of his reiatsu.

"Ready to experience your last journey?"

Without waiting for a reply, he kicked effortlessly. Toushiro's light body was sent flying into the purplish abyss known as the Dangai.

"Goodbye, Toushiro Hitsugaya."

* * *

 **The difference from this and in canon was that Kisuke succeeded in sealing Aizen's powers away in the manga, but here, I made it such that the sealing failed, leading to Aizen's victory. And the Fairy Tail part will appear soon. What do you guys think of it?**

 **Do leave a review or any constructive criticisms, and as always, thanks for reading.**


	2. The Third Gate

**A New Beginning**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or Fairy Tail.**

 **Alright. Here's the second chapter. Enjoy!**

 **Chapter 2: The Third Gate**

* * *

The Dangai. A dimension linking the different worlds together: Soul Society, Hueco Mundo and the human world. An isolated space which is surrounded by numerous stacked-up layers of time's current, resulting it to possess a density of time so high that nobody has been able to fully understand its mechanics.

That was where Toushiro was now standing in. A subdued atmosphere, overcast skies. Barren, with nothing other than stone. The road on both ends seemed to stretch on endlessly. The place was hushed. No signs of life. Toushiro silently took it as a good signal, since it meant that the Koutotsu and the Kouryuu current were unlikely to be anywhere nearby. As the chains were still latched around his wrists and ankles, surviving in the Dangai for an extended period of time was improbable. He had to find the exit to the human world, and fast.

He had no idea where to go though. This portion of the Dangai was alien to him; He had never stepped into that area before. Usually, when Shinigamis traverse between Soul Society and the human world, they use a Jigokuchou, or a Hell Butterfly. These black insects guide the Shinigami through the Dangai and Senkaimon while traveling between the worlds, thereby saving them the trouble of potentially running into the guardians of the place. Since Toushiro didn't have one, he would have to find his way on his own. And he hadn't a slightest clue on where he was exactly, so finding an exit was going to be a tall order.

 _"Hello?"_

Startled, he looked around for any signs of life. There was none. He was alone.

 _"Is anybody there?"_

"Who is it?" asked Toushiro aloud, with a hint of suspicion in his voice. Weirdly, what he heard didn't come from the outside, or from the surroundings. It came from _inside his head_. He was imagining things, he was sure of it.

 _"You must be Hitsugaya, I'm guessing. Haven't seen you in a while. Oh right, whoops. You can't reply even you wanted to. My bad. Anyway, my name is Urahara Kisuke. Please hear me out for the next few minutes or so, if you want to remain alive."_

He remembered it now. Kisuke must've used Bakudou. Specifically, Bakudou 77: Tenteikuura. A spell which allows the user to transmit messages telepathically to anyone, and anywhere he chooses. It was theoretically said that it was able to be used from one side of the world to another. But he never expected it to be able to work in between worlds as well. How did Urahara identify him anyway?

 _"We don't have much time. Let me fill you up on the situation from our side. So after Aizen won the war, Isshin, Ichigo, Youruichi and myself managed to escape using a Senkaimon. We're currently in my shop at Karakura Town. The reason why I know you're Hitsugaya is because I have implanted tracking devices within the Dangai when we were escaping through it a few days ago. We've been looking out for any signs of activity and_ _voilà! We traced your reishi appearing suddenly just a while ago, your spiritual particles. So I immediately tried to contact you using Tenteikuura."_

"As expected of Kisuke," thought Toushiro inwardly. He wasn't the previous captain of the twelfth division for nothing.

 _"Anyway, for some strange reason, the tracking device can't sense your reiatsu. I assume that Aizen must've done something to you when he took you guys as prisoners. Well, there's good news and bad news which comes with that. I'm sure you already know what the bad news is: You won't be able to use any form of Kidou. But no matter, that wouldn't really affect you much as of now. The good news is that the Koutotsu won't be able to sense your presence. It's like a blind bat, requiring darkness to see. In this case, it needs to sense reiatsu to be able to chase you down. So you're safe from that. Man... It was a hassle for us back then. We were already weakened from our fight with Aizen and we had to encounter that thing. We are lucky to be alive."_

So the Koutotsu was still alive. He wasn't sure if that was good or bad for Aizen. He never did tell Toushiro why he wanted to know if the it was still in existence. Even if it did die to him, it had somehow managed to revive itself.

Kisuke's voice rang in his head again. _"Oh dear, I'm sidetracking. Back to the main point! You need to be on guard even though the Koutotsu won't pose as a threat, since the Kouryuu is still out there. It is possible to get caught in its current even though you have no reiatsu. Okay, now on to the important part. The device I've left in there is able to visualise the map of the Dangai within the radius it can cover. And it shows on my end, so I can see where you are. I'll open a Senkaimon for you near your current location, so you wouldn't have to travel much. Then you'll be safe here with us. Sounds good?"_

Toushiro nodded vigorously, even though he knew that Kisuke wouldn't be able to see it. He could still live. He wasn't going to die. All is not lost, yet.

 _"Alright. According to the map, you're on the edge of the Dangai, where none of us had ever visited before. It shouldn't make much of a difference though, all you would be able to see are rocks. You will need to travel north for about an hour. You see that forked path on the far end?"_

He squinted his eyes into the distance. Right at the edge, he vaguely spotted the path splitting off into two different directions. "Once _you reach it, turn right and continue walking for a bit. You'll reach a dead end. I will spawn the Senkaimon there once the device shows your reishi being close to that area. After that, you only have one minute to enter the Senkaimon before it closes by itself. If you fail to enter the gate, our only option would to be wait before we can summon another gate, which will require some time. And I'm not sure if you'll be able to survive till then. So make this attempt count, Hitsugaya."_

The voice was becoming thinner. _"Let's get you out then. I wish you luck."_

The reiatsu that Toushiro could sense within his mind vanished. He was alone again.

With no hesitation, he began his walk to the destination Kisuke mentioned. While he was on the verge on giving up minutes earlier, motivation was now coursing through his veins. It's not over. He has a chance to make things right, to stop Aizen with the rest, and revert things back to normal!

Is it really that simple though?

Aizen had Soul Society and Hueco Mundo at his mercy. He had a full army of Arrancar at his disposal. In time, Karakura Town will fall as well, along with the human world. Most of the Gotei 13 and Visored were either dead or being held captive. Will they really have any odds of winning when fighting Aizen? Not to forget that his level of power is so high, that he could probably take on 10 captain-leveled Shinigamis at once and defeat them without even a scratch. Different situations constantly played in Toushiro's mind, all ending up with him dead. It tortured him subconsciously, gradually sapping his short surge of excitement.

Toushiro shook his head. Pessimism wasn't going to do him any good. He had to focus on getting out alive first. He can worry about the rest when he's safe. He continued walking, till his head bumped against the rugged wall.

"Ouch... I've got to stop scaring myself thinking about the worst-case scenarios," muttered Toushiro. He looked up angrily at the wall which he had struck against.

Without even realising it, he was standing in the middle of the forked path. Turning right, the dead end came into view.

And so did the Senkaimon. The wooden doors materialised onto the rocky walls, opening up to show nothing but a dazzling white. Not giving a second thought, Toushiro broke into a sprint. He was close, so close to freedom.

But it disappeared as quickly as it came.

The sky turned murky, quickly dissolving into darkness. The light which was casted on to the Dangai just seconds ago vanished instantly, leaving behind a sombre aura. The remaining light now only came from the Senkaimon, and its doors were already beginning to close, albeit slowly. Despite that, Toushiro couldn't go forward. He could only watch as his sole means of escape was escaping from his grasp. That was because there something obstructing the way.

The Koutotsu.

It looked as if it was made up of the same material which created the Dangai, only that it was molded into the shape of a bullet train. On the upper-center of its body, a single golden eye shone, illuminating the dim region. Towering above him, the Koutotsu charged forward.

"Shit! So much for Urahara saying that it was unable to sense my presence." Toushiro cursed out in annoyance.

He turned and began to run. He would have to wait it out for another Senkaimon to be conjured up. There wasn't any point in risking his life now trying to bypass the Koutotsu just to enter the current gate. Even if he could expend his reiatsu freely, it was basically suicide to try and face it head on. He wouldn't have made it in time either, as the small gap between the two doors finally slid to a close, and the doors vanishing shortly after.

He reached the area where the road had split off and turned right again, trying his best not to slow down. The Koutotsu didn't show any signs of stopping, fully intent of swallowing Toushiro whole. Its body contains the Kouryuu's current as well, so making any point of contact with it would trap the victim inside, before sucking out the reiatsu within the spiritual body. Fortunately enough, the Koutotsu wasn't very speedy, allowing Toushiro to distance himself from the massive figure the further he ran.

That was, until he met another dead end.

"Impossible! How could there be a dead end here?! I came through this-"

He stopped mid-sentence. It became clear to him now. Instead of returning to his original path, in his haste, he had taken the forked path on the left.

Toushiro sighed as he skidded to a stop. "I'm an idiot."

He looked back. The Koutotsu was catching up towards him. Even the external Kouryuu current had seemed to spot Toushiro, and was trailing behind the Koutotsu itself.

Great. So Aizen was right. He wasn't going to live to see tomorrow. Fate had been toying with him all along, hanging the Candy of Life in his face, then snatching it away from him when at that last moment when he was about to grab onto it. Running around in desperation and expecting an end result, only to find out that that effort was aimless, wasted. What a pitiful way to spend his last few moments alive.

He slowly inched rearwards till his back rested against the wall. This was it. He closed his eyes, ready to surrender himself to the approaching guardian of the Dangai.

Past his eyelids, a flash of golden pierced through, blinding him.

And abruptly, he fell backwards. Into the wall.

* * *

Back in Karakura Town, Youruichi and Kisuke were seated and huddled around a low table back in the stores of the Urahara shop. Isshin had hurried home to check on Karin and Yuzu, as they had been left alone there throughout the war. They on the other hand, hadn't budged from their spots since their return to the shop. The duo had been trying to brainstorm for new ideas ever since they arrived back without any rest.

"This isn't good," said Kisuke wearily.

"Why? Is Hitsugaya okay?"

Ichigo emerged from the shop. He wasn't wearing his standard Shinigami attire anymore; Instead, he had just arrived back from school, and was donning their uniform. He dropped off his bag at the corner, and proceeded to join their silent vigil.

On the centre of the table lay the miniscule tracking device which showed the map of the Dangai. As they observed its readings uneasily, the only blinking dot on the screen which was Toushiro faded away.

"Hmm... According to the device, all traces of his reishi have disappeared," said Kisuke, his eyes not leaving the device. "That could mean two possible outcomes. The first one, is that he could've have been killed by the Koutotsu or the Kouryuu current. When a spiritual body is sucked into them, it pumps out all the reiatsu which was trapped in the container, and spreads this energy evenly amongst the current. Or the Koutotsu's body. Whichever that had trapped him. If that was the case, then Hitsugaya should be dead by now."

Youruichi punched his shoulder in reply. "You idiot. Don't give up just yet. What's the other outcome?"

"I never said I gave up," said Kisuke, gingerly rubbing the spot where he was hit. "Anyway, the other possibility is that he managed to get out of the Dangai, but not by the Senkaimon."

"The Garganta?"

"I would think so." Kisuke frowned. "He didn't manage to enter the Senkaimon. But something doesn't add up."

"Why is that?" asked Ichigo.

"Because I don't think Hitsugaya would willingly enter the Garganta to return to Hueco Mundo. Not when that place is running amok with Arrancar and whatnot. In the first place, he entered the Dangai through the Garganta itself. It doesn't make sense..."

Youruichi frowned. "True. You think Aizen might have sent someone to capture him back?

"No. That couldn't have happened." Kisuke rubbed his stubbed chin thoughtfully. "Throughout the entire time from the start where Hitsugaya's reishi was sensed, to the end where it vanished, there wasn't any other readings. He was alone in the Dangai the entire time. So nobody was there to force him back through the Garganta. I have a feeling something else happened in there. But I can't be sure..."

"Let's assume he's dead then," Youruichi sighed. "We'll try to cast another Tenteikuura there, just to be sure. If not, then we'll continue to think for ideas."

Ichigo laughed. "I thought you were the one who said that we shouldn't give up so easily."

"Yes, I did," she replied irritably. "But I never said that we should continue to cling onto something that we know we cannot do anything about. Based on what happened, it's only reasonable to conclude that there's no point in resuming to pour in unnecessary efforts to save Hitsugaya. In the first place, this whole thing was a waste of time. The chances of successfully saving him were so slim."

"I wonder indeed..." Kisuke trailed off. He noticed Youruichi aiming a glare at his direction and shrugged. "What? Having a low chance doesn't mean having no chance. We don't have many options remaining, you know. We have to take whatever opportunities we can."

"Fine," muttered Youruichi. "What do you suggest we do then?"

"Let's carry on with what you've said first. If we don't receive any reply from Hitsugaya by then, we'll carry on with what we've start earlier today."

"Hang on," butted in Ichigo. "What did you guys start on?"

"Oh. It's just a theory which I've been wondering about for some time now. But there are still many things about it which I'm unsure of. It's alright. As of now, even if I did try to explain it to you, I would probably contradict myself. Give us some time, and we'll be able to perfect it and execute that plan into motion." Kisuke shifted his body to face Ichigo." But right now, Kurosaki, I would appreciate it if you focus on reaching towards Zangetsu. I know using the Final Getsuga completely removed your powers, but he might still be within you."

Zangetsu was the name of Ichigo's Zanpakuto. Just like how Toushiro's is named Hyourinmaru, and Kisuke's Benihime, all Zanpakutos who are owned by a Shinigami has their own names. It is crucial for one to learn the name of their Zanpakuto to unlock the full potential of their weapon, as well as their own powers.

"I know, I've been trying it at home and even during classes," said Ichigo dispiritedly. "But there's never a response. Zangetsu is gone for good, I'm telling you. He told me himself after he taught me how to activate the Final Getsuga."

"Well, true... But that's the only thing you really can do now, isn't it? You want to protect your people. But you can't. You don't have anything at your disposal. Regaining your Shinigami powers is your last hope. Don't be discouraged. It has only been a few days since we've arrived back here. There's still plenty of time. Aizen is far from obtaining enough souls to invade this town to create the King's Key. So until then, keep trying."

Ichigo stood up. "Alright. I'll be going to the opposite room to start then. Call me over if anything happens."

The remaining two nodded unanimously as the ex-Substitute Shinigami made his way out of the storeroom. Youruichi glanced at her partner. "Are you really sure it's wise to do this, Kisuke? He's already at his lowest, and you know."

"It's the only thing he can do now," repeated Kisuke. "And it's the reason why we're carrying on with the plan, right?"

"I guess you're right," she nodded in agreement. "Let's start, shall we?"

* * *

Toushiro finally landed on his bottom. It had felt like a long fall, but he was unable to see what had happened. It was as though he had fell into a gate, and exited the Dangai. At first, he saw the golden colour of whatever he had fallen towards, but once he had entered, everything went black. The only thing that he was aware of was that he was free falling. It was a surprise that he wasn't injured at all when he landed.

Getting up, he gazed around. He was in a building which looked as though it'd been bombed multiple times. The place looked uninhabited. It was a huge rectangular room, with nothing inside it other than a staircase in the middle leading upstairs. The cracked walls had given away, rubble collecting at the corners. The roof seemed as if it was about the give way as well; chips of debris fell and hit Toushiro's head every now and then, the dust created by the falling concrete making it hard to see clearly. Scowling, he rubbed off the dust from his hair when he heard it. Shouts coming from the second floor.

Swiftly, he ascended the steps and headed into the direction of the yells. He knew that he wouldn't be able to do much with his reiatsu contained and his limbs still being chained, which restricted his movements, but he could still fight. The cries sounded human after all, and he could take on humans easily even with his eyes closed. If Toushiro had to guess, he had probably landed in a different region of the human world, which was good for him. All he had to do was to find a way back to Karakura Town, and he would be safe.

As he was about to enter the room which was the cause of the commotion, his jaw dropped.

A young girl was standing in the centre of the fight, who didn't even seem to be above the age of fifteen.

And she was doing battle with ten armed men at once. They charged relentlessly with their knives and blades, slashing in her direction, but she deflected the blows easily with a own, a simple sword with no designs etched on its metal.

"Requip: Heaven's Wheel Armor."

Toushiro watched in amazement as the clothes she was originally wearing began to shine, and when it did stop, her outfit had fully transformed. Plated armor covered her chest, with a large metal flower over it, and she wore a large billowing skirt that had metal plating in the upper area. Her stomach and neck were uncovered, and she had large metal wings that appeared to be made of individual blades, as well as a wing-like headpiece.

What the hell was that? No human had ever done that before, and that wasn't anything like Kidou. The dual swords she was now holding on to weren't Zanpakutos either. It didn't look good to Toushiro. Should they clash, he would probably lose. He could feel an aura emitting from her, but it wasn't like anything he had ever felt before.

"Your time is up, foolish bandits. You should have surrendered when I told you too."

"And why would we?" One of the bandits sneered. "You have decent sword skills, I'll admit, but it's still ten on one. And you're just a young girl. You overestimate yourself too much!" He lunged towards her once again, his knife at the ready.

"Circle Sword."

Swords emerged from nothingness, and started to spin around her rapidly.

"What the-"

"It's over. Dance, my blades."

One by one, the swords rushed towards her assaulters, pinning all ten of them against the wall by their clothing. The girl stepped back, and her armor shone once more, before transforming back to the shirt and skirt she was wearing earlier. Her crimson hair and sparkling eyes flashed like the morning sun on the horizon against the faint lustre of the room.

The bandit who had spoken up earlier widened his eyes as he recognised her identity. "No way. I've heard of you, Titania. But you can't be... You're just a teenager!"

"That's right. My name is Erza Scarlet of Fairy Tail. Your crimes have come to an end."

* * *

 **As you can see, Toushiro has made his way into Earthland, but he has no idea yet. And the first person he meets is none other than Erza. Take note that she's relatively young, about the age of fifteen.**

 **To clarify, Erza was was at that age when Toushiro entered her world. So it's basically Fairy Tail before the manga started. Lucy, Juvia, Gajeel and the people who appeared after them wouldn't have joined the guild yet.  
**

 **Anyway, that's it for now. Do leave a review or any constructive criticisms, and I'll see you guys soon. As always, thanks for reading.**


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